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Friday, February 26, 2010

On Fridays, I'm posting a job search question from one of our readers. This was a question posted in response to my posting on Linkedin Answers “Candidates - What's your most difficult job search question?”

J.S. shared a question he had about his own job search, and asked:

"What did or didn't I say or do that lost it for me? Why didn't I get the offer for the job?"

This situation has happened to all of us - it's happened to me in my career, and it's happened to every one of you. We felt like we crushed the interview, yet we didn't get the job. Because hiring managers are too busy (and too afraid of lawsuits) to give meaningful feedback, we're left frustrated, unfulfilled, and scratching our heads.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Hiring managers, recruiters and HR departments use more than just your resume to find and learn about candidates. That's good news for candidates who have additional ways to market themselves, and ways to differentiate from their competition.

Companies often look first to Linkedin when going beyond a candidate's resume, and often search Linkedin for candidates.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

There is one definitive answer for this question - Longer than you think.

It's interesting that when I talk to candidates, most have such an unrealistic view of how long their job search will take.

I think this reaction is driven by:

Past Experience- Chances are, your past experience in looking for a job was in a better job market than today, unless it was in the 1930's

Need - If a candidate is driven by the need to save their home and put food on the table, they are more likely to figure something out - even if it means working at a lower level position, even if it means working for much less pay

Monday, February 22, 2010

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 2/22/10.

Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth. Despite the recession, these companies are all expanding.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.Read more ...

Friday, February 19, 2010

On Fridays, I'm posting a job search question from one of our readers. This was a question posted in response to my posting on Linkedin Answers “Candidates - What's your most difficult job search question?”

F.P. shared a question he had about his own job search, and asked:

“What font type and size should I use for my resume?”

Interestingly enough, people worry about fonts more than most issues on a resume, yet more get it wrong than just about anything else I see.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The real estate of your resume is one of the most important, and most over looked concepts of effective resume presentation. Most resumes I review have an antiquated notion, if any notion at all, about how use of real estate affects your reader’s impression of your qualifications.

First, what is resume real estate?

Resume real estate describes the use of space and placement on your resume. Not all spaces are created equal.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 2/15/10.

Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth. Despite the recession, these companies are all expanding.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Which do you think is more effective: 1) Sending 100 resumes for many jobs in the hope that a few will be interested in you? or 2) Send a few resumes to a few jobs where you are a perfect fit?

While this strategy is counterintuitive, sending fewer resumes is a much more effective method. An effective and customized resume can get a 15-25% "hit ratio" (face to face interviews with hiring managers divided by total resumes sent) using a send fewer strategy. Notice this ratio doesn't include recruiters (nor informational interviews) - while both are nice they aren't job interviews...they may be a preliminary step to an interview, or they may not be.

Friday, February 12, 2010

On Fridays, I'm posting a job search question from one of our readers. This was a question posted in response to my posting on Linkedin Answers “Candidates - What's your most difficult job search question?”

J.B. shared that his toughest job search question was:

"Do you have any other questions?"

This is not because I haven't done my research. It is because I did my research, developed a lot of relevant questions, and worked them in throughout the interview when they seemed most relevant. By the end of the interview, when that question is typically asked, I'm out of real questions.

Should I just make up a question so I don't leave this one blank?

Should I save a question that would have been more appropriate earlier, just so I can be ready for this?

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

I see this at just about every networking event, and even online – The glommer.

You’ve experienced the glommer at parties and hopefully you’re not a glommer yourself. The glommer is someone who over-capitalizes your time, who overstays their welcome with you, who just won’t let you talk to others no matter how politely you try to leave.

Instead of building goodwill with you, job seekers who are glommers destroy it.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 2/8/10.

Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth. Despite the recession, these companies are all expanding.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies that are contracting.

Friday, February 5, 2010

On Fridays, I'm posting a job search question from one of our readers. This was a question posted in response to my posting on Linkedin Answers “Candidates - What's your most difficult job search question?”

Thursday, February 4, 2010

“Clothes don’t make the man, but clothes have got many a man a good job.”
- Herbert Harold Vreeland

Today's post is a guest article written by Susan Mowder of the Style Principle, a wardrobe consulting firm.

Congratulations, you’ve got the interview!

Believe it or not, that may have been the easy part. Now, what will you wear? In today’s job market, there is no one right answer.

Industry expectations, company environments and your experience are all part of the equation.

Interviewers hope that you are the perfect combination of the skills on your resume and the ideal fit for their company.

Due to limited time, right or wrong, much of their decision will be based on your first impression—the first 5-10 seconds of interaction. Since few words are exchanged in that time, the way you look must speak volumes. Your ultimate goal is to visually present every quality and experience stated on your resume, tweaked to fit the company’s culture.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Who's Hiring is a weekly survey of companies showing the highest hiring activity for the week of 2/1/10.

Not only is this valuable for job seekers, but for business analysts, corporate strategists, marketers, salespeople, investment analysts, financial advisers, and others who are interested in companies experiencing growth. Despite the recession, these companies are all expanding.